LOS ANGELES, Nov 28: Kobe Bryant scored 23 of his 33 points in the second half, 13 in the fourth quarter, as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 104-85 on Tuesday in a battle of the NBA’s top two teams.

Bryant had eight rebounds and four assists and Shaquille O’Neal added 19 points and nine rebounds as the two-time defending champion Lakers won for the 13th time in 14 games to post the best start in franchise history.

Their previous best was 12-1 to start the 1997-98 season.

Sam Cassell scored 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting for Milwaukee (9-2), which leads the Eastern Conference but had a five-game winning streak stopped.

Robert Horry added 13 points and eight rebounds while Samaki Walker contributed a team-high 11 rebounds.

Milwaukee got off to a fast start and led by as many as 14 points but scored only 14 in the fourth quarter while the Lakers poured in 30 points to pull away.

Anthony Mason had 11 boards for the Eastern Conference leaders but guard Ray Allen was next high for Milwaukee with seven, and scored only 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting.

Mason shot 3-for-12 and Glenn Robinson made only 5-of-17 for 12 points.

Tim Thomas made 7-of-9, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, for 17 points for the Bucks.

In Cleveland, Ricky Davis scored 18 points off the bench as the Cavaliers rolled to a 94-75 victory over Michael Jordan’s Washington Wizards.

Point guard Andre Miller, who entered as the NBA assists leader, handed out nine, with 14 points as the Cavs won consecutive games for the first time this season.

The presence of Jordan helped fill Gund Arena for the first time this season and he was the high scorer for the Wizards (3-10) with 18 points.

But Jordan, who leads the league in field-goal attempts, was just 9-of-24 from the field to fall to 40 percent (131-of-326) this season.

In Memphis, Jason Williams had 19 points and 13 assists, dominating his former team in the final minutes as the Grizzlies stunned the Sacramento Kings, 98-94.

For most of his three seasons in Sacramento, the flashy but erratic Williams found himself on the bench in the fourth quarter.

After getting traded for the steady Mike Bibby in the offseason, Williams used his first meeting with his former squad to show what he can do down the stretch.

In Seattle, Brent Barry scored a career-high 31 points to lead the SuperSonics to their season-high third straight win, 112-102 over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Vin Baker added a season-high 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting and nine rebounds in his second game back from a bruised left knee. Gary Payton contributed 20 points and 13 assists for Seattle, which never trailed.

Kevin Garnett paced Minnesota with 22 points and nine rebounds. Terrell Brandon added 19 points and 12 assists and Wally Szczerbiak collected 16 points and 11 rebounds.

In Houston, Peja Stojakovic scored 24 points and Mike Bibby added 18 as the Sacramento Kings posted an 89-84 victory over the short-handed Rockets.

Tuesday’s results (home team in CAPS):